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The evergreen fir Christmas Tree, the symbol of Christmas. Get it right and it's adored, get it wrong and ... you could be at our place!

Last Christmas I was in Bangkok apartment hunting ahead of our Thailand relocation. I had no clue as I searched for any signs of Christmas, that this was due the death of the much-loved King Bhumibol Adulyadej. I did wonder how it would be living in a country where Christmas appeared non-existent. Unbeknown to me, what I was witnessing was not a Country that did not wish to mark Christmas, but a country in mourning. Most celebrations were cancelled or at the very least subdued out of a mark of respect. I can only understand the real impact of this seeing the tremendous effort which has gone into celebrations in 2017. The Thais put on a great Christmas, despite it not being a holiday that they celebrate. It is a normal working day, which is a bit of a shock to some of my friends whose husbands will be working! In Asia often trees have been adapted as …

We ended up in Nha Trang, Vietnam entirely on a 'that looks nice' decision looking at the Luxury Escapes website. Outside of Australia, you may not know Luxury Escapes. It’s an Australian company offering affordable luxury in high-end hotels usually in destinations which need their profile building. I barely knew of the coastal resort of Nha Trang despite it being known as the Riviera of the South China Sea.

It’s a part of South Vietnam that is about to explode as a destination judging by the mass of property development. It has a very pretty six-kilometre stretch of white sandy beaches, with abundant marine life, in a huge bay with nineteen islands to explore and a mountainous backdrop. It is well discovered amongst Russians and the Chinese but our circle of friends we less impressed, preferring Da Nang or the more historic Hanoi. So it was with slight trepidation that we arrive a Nha Trang, a one hour flight from Ho Chi Ming City. We could see immediately the Russian influenc…

I've never liked Vietnam as a holiday destination. This puts me at odds with most people who go there and love it. They love the culture, the food, the cities, the shopping and the beaches... For sure it is as interesting as the rest of Asia, but for me, I could never escape the weight of history. I found the constant setting the scene in terms of the Vietnam war as quite frankly so horrific, that it would impact on my holiday.

I won't repeat what we already know about the Vietnam war, described as one of the US's most controversial military campaigns. Australia's involvement included nearly 60,000 Australian military personnel on the ground. Mental and physical scars run deep across the world. I found that on previous holidays the average Vietnamese tour guide was so concerned to set everything we saw in terms of its context if any, to the Vietnam war that it always impacted on my mood. At one point it was so bad we would say 'No, we're British, we weren't …

We're on the move again, just call me Gypsy Wren! We took a decision when we arrived in Bangkok to take a short-term lease at Embassy Place Apartments. We couldn’t stay longer because the place will be bulldozed to make way for a new high rise development. This week we said goodbye!

But as moving is what we do, and it seemed like half a plan to take this bigger, better and cheaper apartment, even with the hassle of moving out... In the dizzy excitement of Bangkok apartment hunting, we knew the moment we walked up the drive, that this was the one we could happily call home. Come visit with me and see what you think...

I have been blessed to have lived in some of the world's most wonderful cities; Hong Kong, Brussels, and Melbourne but I'm a country girl at heart, I can’t live feeling hemmed in. I like the frenetic pace of life in these big cities, but I do need a retreat, a place of Zen calm.

I need to see light, have space and hear a decent dawn chorus. If I don't wake up t…